Yes, it was Teacher Appreciation Day/Parade last Friday! And yes, we all felt very appreciated. That sign …. driving in, did it for me. But as we felt the love from our families, I KNOW it was sent right back. WE APPRECIATE YOU ALL SO MUCH.

Having sat in on several virtual class meetings, it struck me how much you have been right there to support not only your own children but us as well. I saw parents darting in to sometimes fix a computer or sit with a “busy” first grader helping him to focus more on the screen. I also saw how many of you allowed your children to just be themselves as they explored this whole new arena of learning. Yes, there were the first few weeks of the younger children just getting used to Zooming – making faces at themselves, showing their teddy bears to the group while the teacher was explaining a worksheet, fixing their hair, lounging in and out of bed …. well, you get the picture. (Wish I had a camera going to catch some of the humor in all of that!). Time did settle that down a great deal.

And then there was the sadness and joy of the older students trying to keep each other’s spirits up during community meetings. The “professionalism” they showed as they presented their 8th grade research projects to their community. TED-talkers in the making.

Now we have some final things to do to wrap up this year: exams, senior project presentations, and of course – all of MSA’s notable Traditions and Rituals that happen at this time. You will be getting information about how we will be proceeding to do most of them “virtually” as is possible. It will not be quite the same but if we can imagine our invisible hands and hearts reaching out, we may come to understand that we are more connected than we realize.

Here’s to the final two weeks, to all we have learned through this experience, to what we will be setting up for next year, in person and virtually. But most importantly …. here’s to this remarkable group of families and faculty. “We celebrate our being here” together – at this particular time and under these particular circumstances - as the community of Montessori School of Anderson.

- Karen Holt

Ms. Jenae and the Primary Three students recorded this beautiful homage to Dr. Maria Montessori's teaching philosophy and our school on Sam McGee Road before we began our remote learning experience in March.

A week has passed, but the good feelings have not faded! Thank you again for the Teacher Appreciation car parade on May 8. I have had several families and teachers say that it did them “a world of good” to just see each other face-to-face even if only from a distance and for a few minutes. That personal connection is so important and the comfort that it can bring… and we can all use a little comfort right now!

- Dana Hill

Please enjoy these photos that Ginny Burt graciously took and provided from the event.

The Cline family has been hard at work constructing face shields to support our community's medical professionals and front-line workers dealing with the coronavirus. They have put together an instructional guide and associated video detailing how you can create your own face shields to help protect those in our community who need it most. See this link for instructions and view the video below.

Middle and High School students attended a virtual meeting with Ms. Whitney White, a former 7th-grade teacher in the United States who has traveled extensively abroad over the past several years and who currently resides in Germany. She was able to share her experiences with keeping in touch with family and friends remotely as her, her husband, and her two children have visited more than 25 countries over the past five years and how Germany has dealt with staying at home and remote learning during the pandemic.

One of MSA's yearly traditions is that the eighth grade students get valuable research and presentation experience by taking part in a semester-long research project culminating in a series of presentations at the end of the year. This year added an interesting new twist: virtual presentations! The students did a wonderful job rising to the challenge, and the presentations went off without a hitch. The nine presentations covered a wide variety of topics including deforestation, thermo-electric generators, military dogs, Roman military-government relations, dog psychology, the history and cultural significance of jazz dance, dream studies, social media's contribution to teen anxiety, and the growth and impact of modern architecture. Please help us congratulate our eighth graders for completing this monumental milestone!

Please enjoy these haiku written by ninth-grader Mary Hill:

Quarantine 2020

All staying distant.

Each house replete with chaos,

whilst shelves remain bare.

Outside My Window

The ground appears damp

With water droplets forming.

All creatures arise.

Thank you to everyone who has sent in photos of our students working at home! See below for pictures and a video of joyful scholars hard at work.

This Middle School student got some practical life practice by making dinner for her family.

Upper Elementary students explored thrust, drag and gravity in an experiment where they folded different paper airplanes, flew them, and compared distances. Another student taught a lesson on drag and how airplanes need drag for takeoff and landing. Click the links below to view some of the paper airplane experiments in action:

• Trick plane
• Long range plane
• Peace plane

During this time of social distancing and staying home, we would like to spotlight our MSA Family Businesses:

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• Alchemilla's

• Arnold's

• Besto

• Carolina Bauernhaus Brewery and Winery

• Carson's Steakhouse

• Raines on Main

• Stowaway Storage

• Tucker's

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Please let us know if you own a small business that you would like to include on our MSA Family Businesses list. Email Jaime at jemery@msasc.org.